Right now we are all in the middle of one of the largest most confusing disasters in recent history. Covid-19 surprised most of us and has been relentlessness. It is affecting most countries in the world if not all of them. But, that is not the only disaster for this year. The year began with a horrible fire season in Australia that impacted most of the inhabited areas. Then we had the crash that killed basketball player named Kobe. I’m not a sports guy but while it did not affect me it certainly affected a lot of other people. Since the arrival of this current Corona virus there have been a few natural disasters. Last month there was a tornado that hit South Carolina hard and as I’m writing this many have had to evacuate an area in Michigan due to flooding that began with extra rain but got worse when a dam broke. Another dam is currently at risk in that same area.
This is a large world and as we deal with all of this there are even more issues. There has been concern for rises in domestic violence and suicides. Honestly, I’m not sure we have had enough cover of these issues. Both are hard issues and I bring these up because these remind us that not all threats or dangers are covered by the media.
Do you remember what Tony Stark asked Doctor Strange shortly after they met in the movie “Avengers: Infinity War”?
Tony: “I’m sorry, what do you do again?”
Strange: “I protect your reality, douche-bag.”
Tony had no clue that the threats dealt with by the Sorcerer Supreme even existed. While the Avengers were publicly acknowledged and posted all over social media, popular media, and the news, nobody talked about what Strange and his fellow sorcerers do. Nobody knew that threats from other dimensions were coming; even Thor did not know about the Sanctum Sanctorums or the group that runs them on Earth until Strange invited him to come for a visit.
Right now there are issues going on in our world that nobody is talking about or that very few are taking time to deal with. That includes domestic violence, depression, suicide, but it also includes other issues that we don’t know about. I wonder how many natural disasters have hit in Africa, or what diseases out there are yet to hit us. What about Christians following Christ in areas of religious oppression? What about people of other faiths who are being persecuted by governments or other social groups? Until recently we had failed to recognize doctors and nurses as heroes. Even still we don’t understand how much EMTs, Police and Fire Departments do for us.
My encouragement to you is to “pray without ceasing” as 1 Thessalonians 5 commands. Pray over those caught in domestic violence, trapped in depression, pushed from their homes because of nature, and simply pray “God, I ask you to intervene in the situations I know nothing about.” So start by praying. Pray specifically for situations you know nothing about. Ask God to intervene with hope, grace and salvation. Pray for situations you have an inkling about but I would never see.
If you know about a situation find a way to bring aid or light to it but not all of us know about any of these cases.
If you are in a situation of domestic violence and you don’t have someone to talk to, call the hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Try to reach out to a friend or family member if you can or you can go to this website: https://www.thehotline.org/help/
I’m sure you have seen many places to donate issues with Covid-19 in your area, but if you want to make a donation to bring aid to another country in the corona virus, here is a site for that: https://www.globalpartnersonline.org/covid-19-hub/
If you want to help those living under religious persecution consider Open Doors, USA or Voice of the Martyrs.
There are plenty of other ways to help.
Not all needs are public but Jesus, the Ultimate Redeemer, still knows about them and is very public. The Throne of Grace is always open and all you need to do is pray right where you are.